Abducted VC's mother appeals for son's release

[TamilNet, Thursday, 21 December 2006, 19:55 GMT]
Mrs. Saraswathy Sivasubramaniam, 75, the mother of abducted Vice Chancellor of Eastern University appealed to the abductors to release his son without harm when TamilNet talked to her and her extended family in South London Thursday. "For the last 28 years my son and his family have been living in Batticaloa, the foremost thing in his mind was the development of Batticaloa, especially modernizing the agriculture in Batticaloa," she said. Prof. Raveendranath is 55.

Mrs Sivasubramaniam
"From the time he worked as an Agriculture officer in Karadiyanaaru for three years from 1978, till his tenure as VC from January 2005 until recently, my son worked for the improvement of economic conditions and academic skills of the Batticaloa residents. He is softspoken, and is a man of integrity, and family members looked up to him for advice and support. We are all devastated by his disappearance, and appeal to those who are holding him to let him free," she said.

Eldest of eight siblings, three boys and five girls, Professor Raveendranath, affectionately called by his family and friends as "Indran," is from Kokuvil Jaffna, and is married to Ms Jagatheeswary from Kondavil. The couple moved to Batticaloa immediately after their marriage in 1978, and have two girls, Thushyanthi, 26, and Abirami, 23, both born and schooled in Batticaloa.

Prof. Raveendranath spent 4 years from 1983 for his doctoral studies at the Science Faculty of Imperial College located in Ascot in London, and later spent a sabbatical year 1994 at National Research Institute in Kent also in UK.

"He always wanted to go back to Batticaloa to serve the people there," his mother said. "Neighbors, and people he worked and grew-up with, always have a great respect for his simplicity and his concern towards their welfare," she added.

Professor S. Raveendranath was reported missing Friday 15 Decmber in Colombo's High Security area after attending a conference.

On 30 September, an unidentified armed group kidnapped the Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Eastern University, Bala Sugumar, demanding Professor Ravindranath's resignation in return for the Dean's release. Bala Sugumar was released ten days later by captors widely believed to be members of the Karuna Group.

67 foreign academics, colleagues, and partners of Eastern University, Tuesday jointly urged for the safe release of Professor Ravindranath noting that his tenure as Vice-Chancellor has coincided with major developments like the opening of the first medical school in the East of Sri Lanka.

 

Latest 15 Reports
24.04.22 05:44  
தீவின் நெருக்கடிச் சூழலில் ஈழத்தமிழர் தேசம் கடைப்பிடிக்கவேண்டிய நிலைப்பாடுகள்
09.04.22 14:44   Photo
குறிதவறும் ஈழத்தமிழர் தலைமைகளுக்கு வரலாறு தருகின்ற எச்சரிக்கை
21.01.22 07:24   Photo
ஈழத்தமிழர் தேசத்தின் தலைமைத்துவம் தேர்தல் அரசியற் கட்சிகளுக்கு அப்பாலானது
02.11.21 15:32   Photo
13 ஆம் சட்டத்திருத்தத்தால் கட்டமைக்கப்பட்ட இன அழிப்பை எதிர்கொள்ள முடியுமா?
15.09.21 08:19  
English version not available
17.05.21 19:23   Photo
Ananthi blames war criminal Silva for blocking collective memorial at Mu'l'livaaykkaal
09.04.21 14:46  
English version not available
23.03.21 12:41   Photo
No focus on Tamil genocide, geopolitics gets played out in Geneva in favour of QUAD formation
21.03.21 13:34   Photo
Navi Pillay explains ‘human rights’ limitations in Geneva on Tamil genocide
15.03.21 20:36   Photo
Deceived Tamil activists in UK falsely claimed ‘substantial changes’ to Zero draft
09.03.21 21:34   Photo
UK repeatedly wronged Tamils says hunger-striker, demands genocide justice
26.02.21 11:53   Photo
Tamils witness false dilemma in Geneva as geopolitical formations pit against each other
19.02.21 14:02   Photo
UK not prepared to push for ICC option in new UNHRC Resolution
07.02.21 23:16   Photo
Unprecedented P2P uprising paves the way for rights-oriented politics of Tamils and Muslims
22.01.21 08:01   Photo
Gotabaya sets up deceptive COI citing ‘sovereignty’ and ‘non-aligned’ foreign policy
 
Find this article at:
http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=20689